The Manchester Regiment 1914-18

At the front of Living history since 1993

Living History is fast becoming a very popular pastime in Britain. There are numerous groups around portraying men and women from every period in history. The Great War is a particularly poignant time to recreate. All of us are likely to have family that fought, and often died, between 1914-1918. From nearly every country in the world men went to war, it was the first truly global conflict. Not only that but it is widely accepted to have been the first proper industrial war, where the artillery and machine guns ruled the battlefield. So why do we want to portray such a terrible war? The reason is the same as why the nation stops to remember it, and all the wars after it, every Remembrance Sunday - Lest We Forget. Everyone learns about the battles and the horrors at school, but what is not often remembered is the men themselves. Who were they? What did they eat? How did they fight? How did they cope with such awful conditions? These, and many others, are the questions that all members of our Regiment want answers to. Hopefully if you become a member you can start to have a greater understanding and can even relay that understanding to the general public at some of our events.

It is important to stress at this point that unlike many groups, we are not a 'battle re-enactment' group. Every member of the Regiment, past and present, feels this is not appropriate for the Great War. What we do is 'living history.' Experienced readers will know what this means, but for those who do not, in basic terms, we try to dress, behave and experience the life of the British soldier at the beginning of the 20th century as accurately as possible.

Click here to read more about our group, what we expect from you, and what you can expect from us!